Mantic59's Shaving Journal

DE Razor "Aggressiveness" Quantified

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Tweeter "r0ckrat" turned me on to THIS table over on badgerandblade.com, quantifying the blade exposure of many DE razors. Very cool. I'll be putting this on the "Helpful Links" links list.

Curiouser and Curiouser

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Just as I was finishing up my analysis of P&G's acquisition of AOS, I now read that P&G has also just purchased Zirh. I'm going to have to ponder some of my analysis points a little further before I post....

[Update] P&G's official announcement.

Proctor & Gamble (Gillette) Purchases Art Of Shaving

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:47:00 +0000

I'm still trying to get more information but it appears that P&G has purchased AOS. Excerpts from Advertising Age:

Procter & Gamble Co., which recently made the phrase “win with men” an incessant company mantra, is now fully armed to target the premium male shopper with its Monday purchase of the prestige grooming firm The Art of Shaving.

Details of the deal were not disclosed; however, industry sources estimate P&G likely paid in the $60 million range for the manufacturer and retailer of shave and skin care items, twice the Miami-based firm’s 2008 annual sales. The Art of Shaving will continue to operate out of South Florida as a wholly owned subsidiary, where it was created 13 years ago.Art of Shaving’s founders, husband-and-wife team Eric Malka and Myriam Zaoui, intend to remain “very involved” with the business, with Malka focusing on the retail side and Zaoui acting as a consultant, Malka said....

While P&G has a firm hold in mass, The Art of Shaving steers P&G firmly into prestige, with its 36 retail outlets and 600 retail partners, which include Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, where it will go up against Molton Brown, Jack Black and Acqua di Parma. While dominantly a U.S. brand, Art of Shaving also has international distribution through strategic retail partnerships with Harvey Nichols in the United Kingdom and Bon Marche in France, for example. Bergh cited immediate growth potential in Art of Shaving’s store business, as well as an opportunity to tap knowledge from its burgeoning Internet business (it accounts for 10 percent of overall sales). “On the P&G side [Internet] is tiny, so we can learn a lot there,” said Bergh....

What Happened?

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:49:00 +0000

So...have you ever had "one of those days?"

It all began last month when I "pulled a muscle" in my back (from just getting out of bed that morning, no less). At first I thought I had just pulled a muscle, but the pain got worse through the day, then I started getting "tingling" and numbness down my legs...that's not from a pulled muscle. I called my primary care Physician who saw me the next day. She determined it was probably a slipped disc and ordered an MRI, which I took that same day. By the next day I had the results: mostly minor arthritis and related things, but there was "degenerative disc disease" at L4/L5 (low back). However, while it was an issue, it was something that could be managed (though not reversed) with physical therapy. The physician referred me to an orthopedic back surgeon and (PAY ATTENTION HERE) prescribed Ibuprofen, 2400 mg/day for two weeks, to reduce the inflammation for physical therapy. That's a lot of Ibuprofen. I'd been on the receiving end of a duodenal ulcer (caused by the H. Pylori bacterium) that almost did me in a few years ago so I raised an eyebrow and asked "What about my PUD (Peptic Ulcer Disease)?" The doc said "eh, don't worry about it." I saw the ortho surgeon a couple days later who concurred with the diagnosis and prescribed six weeks of physical therapy, three times per week. My wife and I also mentioned the high Ibuprofen intake but I don't think it really "sank in" with him. By the way, I never took the Ibuprofen on an empty stomach.

So off to PT I go. The first session was an evaluation and the therapist thought I probably had a "faset" problem at L3/L4 too: she manipulated my back much the same way a chiropractor might and *CRACK!* Much of the pain moderated significantly. I thereafter dutifully reported for therapy, got some very mild exercises to start doing, and began to feel a little better every day (at least I could quit using the cane I had for most of the day).

Fast-forward to Monday, May 11 (remember that date). Early PT (8am...ugh) scheduled so I got up early, showered, shaved, and had breakfast. While munching on breakfast...*crack*...broke a crown, dammit. So while I went off to PT my wife made an appointment with my dentist...10am that same day, cool. I saw the dentist then came home for lunch, thinking I'd go back to work in the afternoon. Just before eating I used the potty and it looked...weird. Very much like the stools I had before my ulcer a few years ago. Uh-oh, I'll have to watch that. Finished lunch and I was getting ready to go to the office when I suddenly had to use the potty again.

Blood. Lots of it. And the hear-my-heart-in-my-ears pounding that I remembered all too well.

OK, I'm officially scared (one of the things I found out many months after my first ulcer experience was that if I hadn't gone to the hospital when I did, I wouldn't have survived the day) so I call my wife, tell her what's going on, and ask her to come home from her work. I call my primary doctor's office, explaining that I needed to be seen right away. "I'm sorry, we're completely booked today." Uh...ok. Thinking frantically I remembered the GI (gastric) doctor who took care of me a few years ago. I called his office, explained the situation, and they said sure, come on in.

A few minutes later my wife arrived and we head off to the GI's office. I'm scared and I'm feeling worse by the minute. I'm a "work in" so we're sitting in an exam room, waiting. And just as the doctor walks through the doorway...

...I start vomiting blood.

Now the GI doctor is one of the most mild-mannered, easy-going fellows I've ever met. But when he saw that he suddenly turned into a drill sergeant, barking orders to his staff, questioning my wife, and telling everyone within ear-shot what was going on and what to do. Luckily the doctor's office is literally across the street from a hospital so he says he'll call my primary physician and get me pre-admitted into the hospital's Emergency Department. They put me in a wheel chair and take me to our car, since it would be faster for my wife to drive me to the Emergency entrance than it would be to call for an ambulance and wait. (Later I found out that the GI doctor ended up doing the actual admission, since my primary doctor told him the same thing they told me: "We're too busy here right now." Uh, ok....)

The Emergency Department receptionist had already been alerted I was coming and I was taken directly to a treatment room when I arrived (probably much to the chagrin of the other people in the waiting room. Sorry, folks). I'm only semi-conscious by this point so I'm not exactly sure what all they did, though I remember they started oxygen, IV fluids, drugs to shut down my stomach, plus a bunch of tests. Once I started to stabilize they began talking about doing an EGD (that's a "esophagogastroduodenoscopy"). I had a similar procedure with my duodenal ulcer: they sedate you and run a tube down your throat and into your stomach. The tube has a camera and a little gizmo that squirts epinephrine onto the ulcer, cauterizing it.

The ER nurse was just about to run a nasal-gastric (N/G) tube down me to flush out any remaining blood in my stomach when the GI doctor called up (he must've gotten the test results): "Forget the N/G tube, I want to go in right now. We'll do the EGD under general anesthesia." I'm taken from Emergency to Pre-Op where I answer a bunch of questions, sign some release forms, and get some sedation prep. I remember being wheeled into the endoscopic room and the head of my bed being lowered...

...then waking up in PACU (Post-Op). I feel groggy and my throat hurts (I assume from the intubation) but seem to be OK otherwise. I must have fallen back asleep at some point because I woke up again in a regular hospital room with my wife, a friend of hers, and a few nurses. My wife tells me that the GI doctor told her I had two stomach ulcers, one of which perforated an artery. Well, that explains the blood everywhere.

Oh, and did I mention May 11 is our wedding anniversary? Helluva way to spend it....

From there it was recovery. I slowly lost all the tubes and machines I was hooked up to and was eventually allowed to start eating things besides ice chips. The low point was definitely the wee hours of Wednesday morning when all the anethstetics must've worn off because I felt like I was hit by a train. But the nurses were great and the GI doctor popped in once in a while to check on me. My primary physician never showed her face.

I'm back home now, tired from the blood loss and medicines but feeling better. I'll probably be allowed to go back to work in a week or so. I'll eventually pick up PT again but that's going to have to wait until I'm more fully recovered. Shaving videos? Honestly, they're the last thing on my mind right now. At the moment my first priority is getting healthy again...and finding a new primary care physician.

home

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:33:00 +0000

home from hospital, stomache ulcer hit artery, still tired will try to explain this weekend

hospital

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:09:00 +0000

been in hospital very tired will answer questions later

Prof. Regan on BBC 2

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Corporate "science." Meh.

Twitter

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:16:00 +0000

I just created a Twitter account for myself.

Classic/Traditional Shaving Advocacy

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:27:00 +0000

I'm a raving advocate for classic/traditional shaving. I admit it. I shaved with an electric razor for 30+ years until one day I got an old-style barber shave. The results were so dramatic, literally life-changing, that I immersed myself in the "hobby." I eventually started producing videos on how to shave properly. I received many, many comments thanking me (yeah, and a few snarks and hates too). Though I'm loath to compare myself to one, I almost feel like a "born again preacher" trying to convert the masses.

So, once every week or so, I "trawl" Google for discussions about shaving in non-shaving-related places (and I use the word "trawl" as in fishing, not "troll" as in the snarky-freak-underneath-the-bridge-hater guy). I'll use a series of keywords like "i hate shaving," "learn to shave," "how to shave." I'll also do an "ego search" with a keyword of "mantic59."

Admittedly I get a ton of search results, 99.9% of which are useless for my purposes: "adult" links (ahem...), blogs posting that are obviously Adsense Farms or otherwise blatently commercial, teenage girls talking about shaving their armpits, etc. But every now and then a gem will pop up that I can contribute to. So I do. The vast majority of the time I get a very positive response, and sometimes even a convert. I've also found some really interesting websites and blogs along the way--places like offtopic, somethingawful, ask andy about clothes, the tilted forum project, naked with socks on, etc.

So, what have you done to promote proper shaving?

"Saving Savvy With Dr. Mike"

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Omigod...My Joke Becomes Reality

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:16:00 +0000

I've said in my traditional shaving videos that you don't need a razor that "vibrates like a marital aid." I stand corrected:

Back From Vegas!

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:42:00 +0000

I'm back from Las Vegas, where I celebrated my 50th birthday! My wife and I had a blast--including me winning at the tables!

I did not get to videotape any professional shaves though. Truefitt & Hill has closed their shop at Caesars and is in the process of moving to Mirage. The week before the trip I emailed T&H's (NA) media dept. about permission to do a video. The request wound up on the desk of no less than T&H's Managing Director, Todd Fisher. He was very receptive to the idea of me doing a video of a shave (and, in fact, aware of the shaving discussion boards and my shaving videos) but unfortunately the timing was bad due to their lease expiring. I have no doubt that should another opportunity present itself in the future, T&H will accomodate me to the best of their ability.

I also contacted AOS about doing a video in their shop in Mandalay Bay. Their response was much less enthusiastic. Their representative hasn't been particularly helpful, and we're still in the process of "negotiating" a waiver to their video prohibition. I guess its now a moot point since I've returned but maybe I can get some kind of "agreement in principle" should an opportunity arise again.

Penhaligon's is still at the Wynn. Not a full-blown store like there used to be at Caesars a few years ago, but they have display covering one whole wall in one of Wynn's shops (there's some T&H in the shop as well). There's a wall of AOS products in the Apothocary store at Venetian as well. Acca Kappa is still at the Venetian Canal Shoppes.

Yep, Vegas Again!

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Coming to you courtesy of Blogger's "scheduled post" feature, my wife and I are in Las Vegas again, baby! This time for my birthday. We're here for a week, and once again the plan includes getting a straight-razor shave (or maybe several) if possible. As comment moderation is currently turned on, you won't see any new reader comments until we return.

YouTube Downloads!

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:14:00 +0000

OK! I'm officially part of the YouTube video download pilot program. Selected videos from my series will be available for download (for free) shortly ("within 48 hours" according to YouTube). Since this is a pilot program not all videos will be download-able but I assume more will be available as time goes on. I'm not exactly sure how all this is going to work, so we'll learn together.

Update

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:46:00 +0000

I've updated the shaving forums link (right side of page) with a couple new forums and removed the old MSN Wetshavers forum (RIP).

Still More On Pilot YouTube Video Download Program

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:49:00 +0000

YouTube sent me some paperwork to sign for the Video Download pilot, so I assume it will be coming very soon. I'm glad they're allowing using to have free downloads, because if the "provider" (e.g. the person with the video) wants to charge for it, YouTube is going to take a hefty chunk of the revenue.

Offtopic Shaving?

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:27:00 +0000

I was taking a look at my YouTube Insite metrics the other day when I came across an interesting statistic: fully 17% of non-YouTube embedded player views were coming from one source: "forums.offtopic.com." I wandered over there and discovered a site with an enormous user base (over 200,000 members) and four million discussion threads. I ended up having to join the site ($) to access the area that apparently had a shaving discussion.

Make that shaving discussions (plural!). Good lord, multiple search hits with some threads containing hundreds of messages.

These guys give the somethingawful thread a run for their money....

Barbershop Shave Prep

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:05:00 +0000

A New Taylors Of Old Bond Street Cream?

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:23:00 +0000

According to this discussion on shavemyface.com, Taylors has apparently introduced a new shave cream, Jermyn Street. An interesting comment from the Taylors rep. mentioned in the discussion:

"The gentleman informed me that Taylor's are slowly rolling out new products without 'all the paraben's'. They are also keeping their existing lines, whilst removing these chemicals slowly but surely. " (emphasis mine).

Facepalm

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Reader and YouTube subscriber NalaNosivad sent me this pic of a *six* blade razor he saw (in Britain). When will the madness end?

Hydrolast "Shave Cloth"

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:58:00 +0000

I've been wanting to do an update on my "Method" shaving videos forever, but circumstances have prevented me from visiting Enchante, so I could get it right from the source, for some time now. Its crazy: I only live a couple hours away from Austin. Anyway, it looks like Charles has taken it upon himself to do a video about it. I think its very well done:

RIP MSN Groups

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:22:00 +0000

The end of an era slipped quietly away yesterday. MSN Groups, Microsoft's early attempt at what is now called social networking, was sent to the great bit bucket in the sky. I feel sad, in a nostalgic sort of way, in its passing. Its functionality could only be termed as ghastly: it had a rich text editor but no search capability (!), no private messaging (unless both parties happened to have a Hotmail account), no message quoting--none of the functions taken for granted in the popular forum software (such as phpBB or vBulletin) or journaling/blogging services (Livejournal, Wordpress, Blogger, etc.) commonly found today. But up until just a few years ago, the "MSN Wetshavers" group was the only hangout for anyone wanting to learn more about shaving. I still remember posting my first message (titled "Excited Newbie!") in 2004, after returning from the wedding anniversary trip my wife and I took, where I discovered traditional shaving. I was received, as many "newbies" were (not that there were a lot of them), with what I'll call wry amusement: the welcome-to-the-club-we-remember-how-we-felt-too attitude that often binds together small fraternal groups, the anachronistic, and the misunderstood.

We were a band of brothers, trying to help each other as best we could. We posted product finds in a time when there was precious little available in the US (Arran's Aromatics shave cream at TJ Maxx for $4! A Trumper's-quality product for one-sixth the price). We shared technique and advice. We cheered the efforts of those able to "spread the word" (Corey Greenburg's appearance on the Weekend Today show was a major milestone). It was on Wetshavers where someone posted a message suggesting that somebody needed to do a video about wet shaving as sort of a "visual FAQ." I picked up the virtual guantlet that was thrown down and created the beginning of what is now a series of videos that have over 1.5 million views. There were disagreements but everything was remarkably civil: there were very few "flame wars." And even the disagreements that did occur had positive outcomes in their own way.

(To Be Continued)

Video Downloads

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:27:00 +0000

I'm occasionally asked if its possible to download my shaving videos. My videos on blip.tv are available for download if you're a registered user. Also, YouTube recently announced a pilot program for video downloads, either for free or for a small fee, with Creative Commons licensing no less. I've signed up for the pilot program, though I haven't heard back from YouTube yet.

J. Peterman

mantic59@gmail.com (mantic59) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:52:00 +0000

J. Peterman, the catalog company made famous (infamous?) on the TV show Seinfeld, is running a sale on their "1903" collection of men's products, including their shaving products. Normally its priced a little beyond what I would want to pay for it, but with the sale prices (going till 2pm EST Friday) you might want to look at it. I admit the 1903 shave cream is a favorite of mine: the scent is very "cologne-like" and although they "tamed down" the scent recently (I actually liked it better when it was stronger) it performs competitively with the best out there.